Reed, long a favorite of Patriots coach Bill Belichick, was signed as a missing piece to the puzzle by Houston, which was one of the AFC’s top teams last season. But the Texans have struggled this fall, and Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals was the franchise-worst seventh straight, leaving them at 2-7.

Wade Phillips coached the team Sunday as Gary Kubiak rested following his mini-stroke at halftime of the previous week’s game. Apparently, Reed was not impressed with Phillips’ fill-in performance.

The previous week, when the Texans squandered a 24-6 halftime lead and lost to the Colts after Kubiak was taken to the hospital, Reed noted (twice) that his team “didn’t make adjustments.”

Reed, meanwhile, has seen his playing time go from 32 snaps last week to 12 snaps Sunday. The 35-year-old, in his 12th NFL season, has just 14 tackles (12 solo) and no interceptions in seven games.

Reed was signed to a three-year, $15 million deal that included a $2 million signing bonus and $5 million guaranteed. He missed all of the preseason and the first two games of the regular season following arthroscopic surgery on his hip.